


Too Far From Home

by chrystallinity



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 11:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1549601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrystallinity/pseuds/chrystallinity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Princess Merida of DunBroch is kidnapped by a mysterious, nameless group of mercenaries for equally mysterious reasons. Following her escape from the people who took her from her home, Merida ends up on a peculiar island named Berk where Vikings and dragons live together in peace. However the situation gradually escalates, putting lives at stake in a way none of them could have foreseen. [[ HTTYD/Brave crossover // post-movie!verse & post-Riders of Berk (Season 1) ]]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kidnapped

Merida awoke to the sounds of clatter and yelling. She rolled over in her bed, not willing to get up. The lack of daylight in the room insisted that it was much too early to be awake. Merida attempted to drown out the noise by putting a pillow over her face. The boys were probably just causing more trouble again; it wasn’t uncommon for them to sneak out of their bedroom in the middle of the night and go out on mischievous midnight adventures around the castle, tipping statues over and whatnot. Scolding them was certainly not worth getting up at such an ungodly hour. However, Merida was surprised to hear her father’s urgent yelling down the hall. She sat upright and cocked her head to one side, trying to decipher the muffled shouts outside her door.

From what she could hear, her father was not the only one in the hallway. There was uproar of unintelligible voices that sounded suspiciously like battle cries. Over the rest of that, Merida was able to hear the words her father was yelling.

“Elinor!” he cried. “Stay inside and blockade the door! I’ll get Merida and the boys—”

This outburst was accompanied by the clang of metal against metal. Merida immediately recognized a pattern of the sounds that suggested sword fighting. Then, there was a rather loud _whack!_ followed by a grunt that interrupted Fergus’ speech. Merida’s eyes widened.

“Dad!” she called, springing out of bed. Merida hoped for an answer but received silence instead. She desperately searched the room for her sword. Once she had it in hand, the princess bolted straight for the door.

She didn’t know what she would find on the other side. Honestly, half her mind might have been begging her to go back to sleep. But whatever was going on, her dad sounded like he was in trouble, and she was not going to just sit and wait for the worst to happen.

As soon as her hand grabbed the doorknob, the door swung open toward her, smacking into her shoulder. Merida jerked back. Her sword cascaded to the ground as she clutched her arm in pain. When she looked up, she saw two tall, burly men armed with battle-axes march into her room. Her good arm reached out for her sword on the floor, but one of the men kicked it aside. It took Merida a moment too long to realize that the other man held out a burlap sack. She was effortlessly picked up and stuffed into the sack in a rather undignified manner. Merida tried to get a good look at her captors’ faces, but her vision was blurred because of all the motion and there was no chance of her seeing anything once they tied up the bag.

“Grab the sword!” one said in a gruff voice. “Royal weaponry would sell for good profit.”

The other’s voice was similar, but deeper. “How about the bow and arrows over there?”

 _Oh, no you don’t,_ Merida thought. She flailed as much as she could while confined in the sack, but to no avail. It was like these people were made of stone; she was sure she felt contact, and her strength was nothing to sneeze at.

“Ay,” the first one replied. “Doesn’t look like much, but we’ll see.”

“What did you say?” Merida growled, but if the men cared for her tone, they said nothing.

When the two men had begun hurrying out, Merida searched for something sharp on her person to cut open the burlap. She had no such luck, so she opted for verbal abuse. Her protests went unheard until one of the men said, “Hey, shut her up, will you? She’s too noisy!”

At that moment, Merida felt the effects of gravity making her stomach turn until she collided with the ground. The poor girl landed on her back, and as soon as she felt the impact her body went still. Merida hissed in pain but said no more. They chuckled at her before picking the bag back up and resuming pace.

Merida’s heart became heavy when she noticed how these men were running off without interruption. What happened to the royal guards? Her dad? Were they safe? She forced herself to think of the most optimistic situation to avoid panicking.

They reached the outside of the castle running, and Merida felt herself thumping against her captor’s back, which was much less than comfortable. In fact, it was downright awkward.

 _I’m getting kidnapped,_ she kept telling herself, like a wake-up call. _I’m getting kidnapped and there’s nothing I can do. Come on, Merida, think!_

She heard more yelling around her, and some phrases she could make out.

“One of our men’s been captured!”

“There’s no time, get to the ship!”

“Hurry, _hurry!_ ”

“Still more guards!”

Soon the men’s feet hit something that sounded like wood, and the sound of the water splashing against the shore was enough for Merida to tell that they were indeed heading for a naval vessel. The clamor didn’t cease, even when the men stopped running. Presumably they were having a conversation with the captain or something, because the following conversation went like this:

“So, what do we do with her?”

“The princess? Put her down below, we can’t have her escaping. Bind her up while you’re at it. Oh, and you know where to put those weapons.”

Hearing this, Merida began a string of curses at these people, which they promptly ignored.

Merida didn’t know exactly where on the ship they would be taking her, but she knew it was a long way down. After a few minutes, she finally heard them stop to open a door. The person carrying her unceremoniously knocked her against the side of the doorframe when he was coming in, which took Merida by surprise, and she yelped.

“Whoops,” the man drawled sarcastically. “My apologies your highness.”

She was practically seething now. Who did these people think they were? They seemed like no-good lowlifes, as far as she could tell. They went through too much effort to just be mere pirates, however—most pirates would rather raid on smaller, defenseless villages, not kingdoms. Maybe they were a different lot of pirates.

“You know, she’s not going to let you tie her up so easy,” said the gruff voice.

“I know,” the deep voice responded nonchalantly.

For the second time, Merida hit the ground as her captor tossed her. She tried to right herself before they came over and untied the sack. Once she found the opening, Merida took a blind swing but hit nothing. Instead, one of the men caught her fist and struck her against the face. She blacked out instantly.

The next thing she remembered was rolling off of a cot and landing on the wooden floor. After being shaken around the previous night by her captors, the princess was not thrilled to make her soreness worse. Then she noticed that it was bright inside the room. Unaware of what was providing light, Merida struggled to get up, only to find that her hands were bound behind her back and her ankles were tied together under her dress. On her cheek, she felt a tender bruise.

“Bloody pirates…” she cursed, twisting her body over so that she could at least sit upright. She leaned her head against the hard edge of the cot and looked to her side.

There was a small, circular window on the wall, and from her angle she was looking up into the sky. Water splashed against the glass every few seconds. Merida sighed in exhaustion. She had been hoping she dreamt the night before. Her pride didn’t want her to believe that someone was actually able to overpower her and take her captive. Being in that ship’s room forced Merida to accept the truth: she was now a prisoner.

“There has to be a way out,” the princess insisted, well aware that she was talking to empty space.

Merida still had no idea what happened to her family. A crazy part of her had wished that they had gotten taken with her, so at least she wouldn’t be alone.

Just then, the door opened, and Merida’s entire body stiffened. Her head turned to face the door. She expected another one of those muscular men to come in, but to her shock and confusion, the person standing in the door was a young man, maybe her age. He was rather thin, unlike her captors, and for a moment Merida thought she was hallucinating.

“Afternoon, Princess Merida,” he said cheerfully, with a smirk on his face that signaled a troublemaker.

Merida huffed and pursed her lips. She saw that the boy was holding a tray, with a bowl and a cup. From where she was sitting she could not tell what was in it until the boy put it on the ground in front of her. It was some weird mush with water on the side. There was also a spoon next to the bowl.

She thought the kid was going to leave then, but he closed the door sat down on the other side of the tray and looked at Merida inquisitively with brown eyes that matched his hair. The princess glared at him.

“I know you’re a hostage here,” the boy began. “But I want to help you out.”

“Jump off a bridge, pirate,” Merida snapped.

“Pirates?” The boy blinked, and then chuckled, much to Merida’s annoyance. “We aren’t pirates. Though I suppose it doesn’t really matter to you.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Well, anyway, I’m the cabin boy. I was sent down here to feed you.” The boy shrugged.

Merida looked at him with disgust.

“Now, now,” he chided. Somehow this guy really knew how to rub her the wrong way, and he seemed to be milking it. “I don’t have any intention to, really. I’ll just leave the food down here and you can figure out how to eat it. But for now I don’t think I’m going to come anywhere close enough for you to bite me. Not until I know you won’t.”

Merida turned away from him. She didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say, especially if he was going to say it in such a way that made her want to smack him. Curse the ropes that restricted her.

“It’s going to be like this for as long as you’re on the ship,” the boy said, standing up. “One meal a day, just to keep you alive. Of course, eating it is up to you. But if you’re thinking about suicide, well, your family back at the kingdom wouldn’t be too happy.”

With that, the boy left, locking the door behind him. Merida stared in front of her at the pitiful food supply. The spoon was virtually useless without her hands; she would have to eat it like a dog and there was no way she was doing that. Merida kicked the tray away from her, spilling the food and water all over the floor.

 _Whatever,_ she thought. _It’s not like they can force me to clean if they want to keep me tied up._

At least her family wasn’t on the wretched ship, though the boy could’ve been lying to her. Merida would just have to pray for the best.

The next few days followed the same routine. Merida would wake up, spending hours trying to think of an escape plan, effectively ruling out hundreds of possibilities. The cabin boy would come in, drop off the food, try to make small talk, only to leave after a while without reply. Then Merida would go on to make a mess by kicking over the food. The cabin boy had to clean it up every time, which was satisfying to see. Every now and then some muscly guy, much more like the people that kidnapped her, would show up, look her over, and leave without saying a word. It was probably a precaution. If they came and saw the mess of food on the floor, they’d call in Cabin Boy.

Then the cycle was broken. The lack of sustenance weathered Merida down. She had been drinking water and taking mere bites of the strange mush before throwing her usual fit and kicking it over. It kept her going, but by this time it was not enough. When Cabin Boy came in again with her food and set it down in front of her, Merida stared at it like it was the most tantalizing cuisine she had ever seen.

“Wow, this time you actually look hungry,” Cabin Boy noticed. He took a seat on Merida’s cot since she was sitting on the ground again. “Does that mean there’ll be less for me to clean up next time?”

She really couldn’t stand him.

“Do you ever get tired of being annoying?” she asked irritably.

“Do you ever get tired of starving yourself?” he countered. “Are you going to eat or not?”

“Why do you even care?” she groaned.

“I told you once already: I want to help you,” he reminded her.

Merida felt her temper rising. “You people are the reason I’m here in the first place! And you want me to believe that you’re going to _help_ me?”

Cabin Boy pretended to clean out his ears. “Wow, you’re lucky no more than one person at a time ever goes down here. If they could hear you yelling that stuff out loud I’d be a dead man.”

Merida groaned. This guy was absolutely clueless.

“All right,” she relented. “Go ahead.” The girl was too tired to argue. If he wanted to feed her so badly, then she’d let him. Plus, she was famished anyway. No point in dying, really, if her family was still waiting for her to come back.

The boy hopped off the cot and bent down next to Merida. Instead of picking up the spoon like she thought he would do, his hands went behind Merida’s back as he undid her bindings. Merida’s mouth fell open as Cabin Boy sat back. She brought her hands out in front and examined them. Her wrists were red from abrasions and her fingers a little numb but otherwise were fully functioning. Merida stared at Cabin Boy in disbelief.

“Yeah, I really just did that,” he said with a cocky grin. “You’re welcome. Now you can feed yourself properly.”

Merida proceeded to untie her feet too. She picked up the spoon and the bowl of mush and scarfed it down without complaint. Cabin Boy looked impressed.

“You _are_ hungry.” His eyebrows rose. “Guess I won’t have anything to clean up after all. Your taste buds must be numb if you’re eating all of that without throwing up.”

Merida downed her water and wiped at her mouth. For a few seconds she was quiet. Then she said, “I have some questions for you.”

Cabin Boy’s smile didn’t waver. He gestured for Merida to continue. “I knew you would.”

“Is my family really back in Scotland?”

“Yes.”

“You all aren’t pirates?”

“No.”

“Where are we going?”

“Scandinavia or something, I think. With more stops along the way. We’re going south first, then back up.”

“Why?”

“No clue.”

“How come you don’t know?”

“The stuff around here is on a need-to-know basis.”

The look in his eyes told Merida the answer to her next question: “I don’t know what they’re going to do with you.” She felt like vomiting, and it had nothing to do with the taste of the food.

“What are _you_ doing here, then?” she asked. “You’re definitely not one of them.”

Cabin Boy scoffed. “Well, technically I am, since I’m on the ship and all. I was separated from my family and these guys picked me up, thought I’d be a useful servant. And it wasn’t so bad. They almost became my second family.”

“But?” Merida prodded.

“I don’t agree with everything they do,” Cabin Boy admitted. “They don’t rob ships, so they aren’t really pirates, but they still like to take dirty jobs and steal to sell goods for profit. More like bandits, I suppose.”

“That reminds me,” Merida chimed in. “They have my bow and arrows. And my sword.”

Cabin Boy shrugged. “They’re probably in storage. On the few stops we’ve had so far, I don’t think anything from your castle has been traded.”

“So why do you stick around?” Merida asked cautiously. “Are you happy here?”

“It’s complicated,” was Cabin Boy’s only comment.

Merida didn’t feel like prying anymore after that. She almost felt guilty, but still another question escaped from her mouth, “Is that why you’re helping me?”

He turned away from her, looking out the window. The sky was getting dark. “You have a home to get to. That’s all.” He paused. “By the way, we need to redo those bonds if you’re finished eating.”

Once the ties were back in place, (surprisingly, Merida protested little about the bonds) Cabin Boy stood up, picked up the tray and utensils, and walked to the door.

“Oh, wait!” Merida called. “One more question.”

Cabin Boy stopped to look at her, one hand on the doorknob and the door slightly ajar.

“What’s your name?” Merida asked.

Without missing a beat, Cabin Boy replied, “Jack.”

Things between Jack and Merida didn’t change much after their fleeting moment of connection. She was still irritated by him most of the time, but at least now she could have temporary release from the ropes. It was better than nothing.

Each time they made a stop, which could happen within the span of hours, Merida would make up scenarios in her head about how she could escape and get to land, finally. It was pretty impossible, but she had to keep her motivation to stay alive.

Merida was afraid to ask Jack more questions, fearing that she might go too far. The two still didn’t talk much until one day Jack came in rather quickly and shut the door behind him. Startled, Merida turned to him in annoyance.

“Oi, what’s going on?” she demanded.

Jack was holding her regular tray of food and water in one hand, and a sword in the other. Merida gasped.

“Is that mine?” she asked loudly.

Jack shushed her, even though he was the one saying that no more than one person at a time goes down to her room on the ship. He undid Merida’s ties and handed her the sword, which she accepted gleefully. She wondered if she could still use it in her weakened state.

“Figured you can conceal that underneath your sheets,” Jack suggested. Merida had one blanket on the cot to prevent her from freezing to death at night. “I couldn’t find your bow and arrows this time, though.”

“How did you even get this?” Merida exclaimed.

“It was nothing,” Jack grinned. “Storage is hardly monitored. They won’t even miss it. It’s royal equipment, so pretty easy to spot. They might just assume that it was lost or accidentally sold.”

Merida was overjoyed at being reunited with the familiar piece of metal. It was like a small piece of home. “Thank you,” she said.

“Anytime,” Jack replied. “You’re getting out of here, soon, okay? I’ll figure something out.”

“What about you?” Merida asked. “You don’t have to stay here, you know.”

Jack sighed. “Yeah, we’ve been through this. I still have business to settle with these guys, though. Look, let’s just get you taken care of. Then I can figure out what to do with myself.”

Later that evening, despite Jack’s cryptic response, Merida was able to sleep comfortably for the first time in five nights. Days on the ship kept her wondering if she was going to survive. Now, she knew that she would live; it would just be a matter of escaping this damn ship.


	2. Escape to the Unknown

Merida was getting impatient. She was in her room (or prison cell, as she often referred to it, since she was in fact a prisoner) lying down on her cot and staring up at the ceiling. There was nothing remotely interesting to be looking at, save for the grooves of the wood and maybe an occasional insect, if she was lucky. Jack had found her bow and a quiver (with arrows, thankfully), which she now hid under crumpled sheets in case crewmembers bothered to check on her. Merida wished she were able to go shoot some of these guys with her arrows. Being held captive was terribly boring, so to relieve her boredom she had spent most of her time thinking.

It had been roughly six days, and with all the trading stops the princess thought that rescuers could have caught up by now. In actuality, many reasons could have kept her father from pursuing these bandits. These people could have been more dangerous than she thought, and the kingdom of DunBroch had to plan strategically. Merida could only guess how the lords were reacting. There was probably chaos going on in the castle right now. Lord Dingwall was surely throwing a fit larger than his short stature could maintain. Merida chuckled at the thought.

She wondered what her family was doing. Harris, Hubert, and Hamish were probably still wreaking havoc. Merida prayed the boys could have at least provided a good distraction for everyone; she’d hate to have them all sick with worrying about her. The triplets would probably help feed Angus too. Her mother was no doubt going out of her mind, and who knows what her dad was going through right now. Had he recovered yet from the fight? Merida hadn’t even been able to get a look at him that night she was taken away.

Then came the topic of her kidnapping. The most likely motivation would be ransom money, but if that were the case, this ship wouldn’t have sailed too far from the Highlands. Perhaps they were trying to bring down the kingdom, thinking that if the princess were gone, everything would fall apart. That would be a sore mistake. If Merida knew anything about the kingdom of DunBroch it would be that under the direst circumstances, especially with a common cause, the people were able to stand firmly together. Attempting to destroy them this way would be futile. With such a long time between now and her kidnapping, however, Merida was beginning to wonder what exactly was going on back home.

The door opening interrupted Merida’s thoughts, and Jack walked in.

"Finally!" Merida exclaimed, sitting up. "Took you long enough, Jack. The sun’s not even up anymore."

The boy smirked and as usual went to go untie Merida so she could go eat. Out of his pocket that was hidden under his cloak, Jack pulled out a ripe, red apple and tossed it to her. “A feast fit for a queen,” he said with surprising finesse.

"I’ll say," Merida laughed. She took a bite eagerly. Eating real food for once was refreshing, and Merida decided she would save the delicacy for last.

"I’ve got some bad news, though," Jack admitted, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. "We’re heading into Viking territory."

Merida’s eyebrows rose as she listened. She knew that Vikings and the Scottish didn’t have very good history. In fact, the kingdom was founded when Lords Macintosh, Dingwall, and MacGuffin fought with her father against Viking invaders. Since then she hadn’t heard much about the brutes, but she knew that many Vikings of different clans settled on scattered islands in the North Sea, meaning “Viking territory” was actually broken up into numerous smaller territories over a wide expanse.

"They do trading with Vikings," Jack explained. "And I don’t know if it’s true, but a lot of the men were talking about selling you to some Viking village. Apparently some really hostile folks would pay dearly for a chance to kill you."

"I suppose." Merida suddenly found it hard to swallow.

Jack shrugged. “They might be joking. To be honest, I think it’s extreme, even for the captain. You’re actually the first captive he’s ever ordered to keep on the ship.”

"Honestly?" Merida thought there would have been hundreds of other prisoners before her. In fact, she was thinking that maybe Jack had a soft spot for them and helped them all escape.

Suddenly the boat lurched to the side, throwing Jack off his feet and forcing Merida to brace herself against the cot, which was thankfully nailed to the floor. Her bowl of mush went flying across the room, along with her apple, much to the princess’ dismay. Both kids stared out the window. The sky was dark with clouds and rain was suddenly pelting the glass as waves roared up and crashed against the side of the ship. Jack got up and helped Merida get steady on her feet while an unmistakable clap of thunder boomed, and more waves rocked them again.

"A storm?" Jack’s eyes were darting around until realization dawned on his face. He grabbed Merida’s shoulders and looked at her with a wild grin. "Come on, princess, grab your stuff. It’s your last stop."

"What?" Merida spluttered. "Jack, are you insane?" She grabbed her weapons anyway, slinging her bow and quiver over her shoulder and gripping her sword.

He was already at the door, gesturing for her to follow her out. “Maybe. But everyone’s distracted during storms, it may be your only chance to escape.”

And so began the stealth-run to the ship’s deck. Merida’s heart raced; they were sure to be spotted. However, fortune must have been on their side that night because Jack and Merida sneaked around corners, narrowly dodging the tall, muscular henchman who were also rushing to get to the ship’s deck. To hide her from plain sight, Jack offered up his cloak, which proved to be effective cover. There was no hood, so she was stuck holding it over her head with her free hand, but Merida didn’t complain.

It was admittedly difficult to run through the ship while it was being tossed around like a ball. Somehow, the two made it all the way up onto the open deck, panting heavily as they made their way to the port side. Nobody paid any mind to Jack, and as long as Merida was concealed and crouching, she was easily overlooked.

The deck was slippery and within thirty seconds, both Jack and Merida were soaked to the bone, their ears deafened by thunder and nearly blinded by the rain in their eyes. Jack ended up dragging Merida along while she struggled to keep her footing. They reached a contraption suspending a small boat over the water on the side of the ship.

"For emergency escapes," Jack panted, "and this is an emergency, huh?"

Even in this situation he found the gall to smile. Merida wanted to hit him, but before she could she found Jack forcing her over the side of the ship and into the small boat. Shortly after, Jack slipped on the deck and fell out of sight. Merida tried to look over at him while keeping herself concealed.

"Jack!" she called.

"Fine!" He got up and looked around. No one was around and he would have to act quickly. "I’m going to drop the boat now."

"You  _are_  insane!” Merida decided. Her breaths became almost too heavy for her to yell at him.

"You’re welcome!" Jack shouted before pulling a lever.

The boat dropped at an alarming rate, and Merida was screaming at the top of her lungs till she hit the water with a violent splash. She held her sword so tight her knuckles felt like they were breaking. She wrapped Jack’s cloak tighter around her body, trying to shield herself from the rain as she stared up the hull of the ship. Moments later, Merida found that she was being carried away by a wave, separating her from the ship. She gripped the sides on the small vessel in a panic, feeling her adrenaline rush as she felt herself being thrown in the water.

Her foot kicked something and Merida saw a pair of oars secured in the boat. She quickly took them and fastened them onto the oarlocks. Sitting up and placing her sword underneath her feet, Merida rowed for her life. Granted, the waves did much more to propel her in any given direction. Merida couldn’t even see which direction she was traveling.

 _Oh, this is definitely it_ , the princess thought hopelessly.  _I’m going to die_.

And yet, she survived. Sometime after the storm, by sheer luck, Merida reached land. The sun was up, blinding Merida with its light. It was then she realized her boat had reached a rocky shore. Sopping wet and exhausted, she forced her legs to give support and stumbled inland, making sure to grab her sword. Jack’s cloak hung over her shoulders, heavy with water. The terrain was very mountainous, but it didn’t take long for Merida to find a large enough shelter in the rock. Mustering her last bit of energy, Merida scrambled into the dark space, falling to the ground and leaning against the rock wall of the cave.

The first thing she did was shaking her quiver by the strap to check its contents. It was still full, thanks to the cloak keeping them all from flying out while she was struggling at sea. Her sword and bow were also both in good condition, nothing needed fixing, not even the string of the bow, which she thought would’ve snapped.

After she settled that her mind focused on getting air into her lungs. They felt deflated, at it made her feel lightheaded. Breathing left a burning sensation deep in her throat, but she ignored it.

 _Sleep_ , her mind said.  _Sleep sounds wonderful right about now…_

 —————

Whenever Hiccup went flying, he felt invincible. The wind rushing past him, defying gravity, and of course, he was with his best friend every time. The dragon enjoyed flying just as much if not more than its rider. You simply couldn’t get this kind of exhilaration doing anything else.

“Man am I glad that storm cleared up when it did,” Hiccup mumbled to himself. “I thought we’d have to cancel the morning fly, huh, Bud?” He patted Toothless’ head affectionately.

The storm had been quick. It barely passed over the small island of Berk for no more than a few hours, but it was enough to make most of the villagers worried. Harsh storms usually meant bad things in the future. Flying around and searching the horizons, Hiccup didn’t see any more signs of dangerous weather approaching, so he wasn’t too concerned. They must have gotten lucky.

“Toothless,” Hiccup said, “let’s take a rest for a minute, yeah?”

They circled over the ocean before finding a rather small, rocky island to land. It didn’t look like the most inviting, with all the hard stone, but it was better than nothing. As Hiccup steered Toothless around the island, looking for a safe landing spot, he saw something on the shore that he couldn’t quite make out.

He directed Toothless toward the area and had the dragon land so he could get a closer look. The strange object turned out to be a boat, one only big enough to hold maybe two people. It was battered up slightly, and the wood was somewhat damp. Curious, Hiccup walked around, finding a pair of oars tossed to the side.

Hiccup crouched down in front of them. “One’s broken,” he muttered, picking up the two halves of an oar. He held the paddle up for Toothless to inspect. The dragon sniffed at it before tilting his head in confusion. Then suddenly, the dragon straightened up, his ear lifting as he picked up a sound.

Toothless’ head turned before he bolted after the sound that Hiccup couldn’t hear. The Viking called for his friend to slow down. Making it over the uneven terrain wasn’t as easy for a human with a metal leg. He followed Toothless for a short ways inward before reaching a mountainside cave. Toothless stopped and made an uncertain sound while staring ahead. They weren’t too close to it, but inside the cave, Hiccup could make out a huge mass of red…hair?

“There’s someone there!” Hiccup said, turning to Toothless. He inched closer, trying not to make any noise and startle this person, who was turned away from them. Then Hiccup’s metal leg hit a protruding stone, making loud scraping noise, and the person in the cave tensed up and turned to them.

It was a girl, maybe his age, with a torn dress and cloak and blue eyes that held a look as wild as her curly hair. Her clothes were wet and she was obviously frightened. She did little except gasp at the two of them and try to scoot back, her hands grabbing at something behind her.

Hiccup put his hands up. “No, no! I promise we won’t hurt you—”

He was interrupted when the girl suddenly stood. She held a bow and arrow at him, ready to shoot. Hiccup was able to look the girl in the eye and he gulped. Something in his gut warned him that if he were the target, she wouldn’t miss.

“Get back,” she said assertively. Her voice was surprisingly calm. “Or I swear I’ll loose this arrow.”

Taken off guard, Hiccup took a misstep backward, which caused him to fall to the ground. When he looked up he realized that the girl’s aim was still locked on him. Hiccup felt himself break into a sweat, and from behind, Toothless growled at the stranger, baring his teeth menacingly. The dragon took a leap forward and snarled, shocking the redhead. Her aim shifted to Toothless, and Toothless let out a roar, causing the girl to freeze up and drop her arrow. Her eyes widened in shock and she faltered back on her left leg.

Hiccup’s brow furrowed. He noticed that her left foot wasn’t completely on the ground; the heel was slightly up, and when her dress moved Hiccup could see a spot of blood above her ankle. Hiccup jumped up and restrained his dragon from making any more aggressions.

“No, Toothless!” he commanded, holding Toothless’s muzzle and putting his body in between the dragon and the girl. “It’s okay, calm down.” He turned back to the girl. Her arms were now slack, though she was still holding the weapon, and she stared at the two in utter disbelief.

Hiccup tried to look apologetic. “You’re hurt, aren’t you?” he asked.

Suddenly conscious of her wound, the girl tried to fix the bottom of her dress to hide the blood leaking through her clothing. She eyed Hiccup suspiciously.

“I’m sorry for startling you,” Hiccup said, taking a walking cautiously inside the cave. “But we can help. I swear I have no hidden agenda or anything. Please, you need to get that treated.”

The girl stared at him for a few, long seconds before sighing and slinging her bow over her body and picking up her arrow. She also picked up a sword from the ground that Hiccup hadn’t noticed before.

“Mind if I…?” she asked, eyeing Toothless warily.

Hiccup nudged Toothless’s side. “Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

The girl tried to take a step, but one attempt on her left leg sent her falling towards the ground. Hiccup rushed forward and caught her arms before she made a face plant on the rocky cave floor.

“Thanks,” she huffed, avoiding his gaze.

Hiccup pursed his lips. “Here, it might be easier if you use me as a crutch.” He moved to her side and put her arm around his shoulders for support. They hobbled out of the cave when Hiccup asked, “So…got a name?”

She still didn’t look at him. “Merida,” she answered plainly.

“Huh. Nice name.” Hiccup found that odd. Most Viking names didn’t sound like that. “My name is Hiccup. Have you ever been on a dragon before?”

Merida looked at him like he fell out of the sky. “Excuse me?”

“I’ll take that as a no.” Hiccup gestured to Toothless, who came towards them eagerly. “Well, there’s a first time for everything. Come on, Bud, let’s head back.”

At first, Merida was completely reluctant to get near Toothless after their little squabble, but Toothless behaved as well as a good dragon could, so the redhead was able to relax a little and Hiccup eventually got her to mount on Toothless’s saddle. He hopped on after her, clicking his metal foot into the steering mechanism.

He turned back to Merida for a moment. “Hold on tight.”

Merida braced herself as Hiccup took off into the sky. At first, the princess didn’t know what to expect. For all she knew, she might’ve in reality still been in that cave and she was just having terrible hallucinations. How could she  _actually_  be riding on a dragon?

But the sensation felt all too real: the way her stomach dropped when the dragon went up, the wind through her hair, and even the feeling of this new stranger in front of her was enough to make Merida realize it was really happening. In hindsight, she shouldn’t have been that surprised; she dealt with witchcraft and that entire sort before. A dragon wouldn’t be big news to her. Heeding Hiccup’s words, Merida held on for dear life, and she was sure she almost crushed the air out of the poor guy once the dragon took flight. She wasn’t even able to enjoy this new experience due to her fear, but at least she didn’t scream.

Mostly, Merida kept her face buried in the crook of Hiccup’s neck while she held her sword tightly in one hand. She was scared she’d pass out if she looked, but she knew that they were in the air. The few turns the dragon made left a queasy feeling in her stomach, but the ride was over before she knew it and the dragon came to a complete stop on land.

Merida slid off the dragon’s back hastily, almost agitating her wounded leg. She snuck a glance at the dragon, who seemed to be looking at her expectantly, as if saying, “It’s not so bad, right?” Toothless was its name, she remembered.

When they landed, a group of people came up to them. They all looked around the same age, teenagers mostly. There was a blonde girl with braided hair, twins, and rather large, stocky boy, and another boy with a sort of pig nose. Their approach changed once they saw Merida. Slowly, their faces went from shock, to wonder, and a few even became suspicious.

“What happened?” asked the girl with the braid.

“Whoa, her  _hair_ ,” said one of the twins, a boy. Merida realized that they were of opposite sex. His sister whacked the backside of his head in annoyance.

The large one was rather timid for his size. He reminded Merida a little of young MacGuffin. “Not to be rude,” he piped up, “but who is she, Hiccup?”

Hiccup sighed before telling them the story. Merida watched as most of their eyes became even more suspicious, but she couldn’t fathom why, especially in her tired state. Her gaze moved to Hiccup’s face. His jaw was set and he appeared to be silently communicating something to them. His friends relaxed a little, and Hiccup proceeded with the introductions.

The names were so odd. She thought Hiccup’s name was bad enough, but on top of that there was Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut. Merida wasn’t sure she could remember it all.

“If you guys could wait up for me,” Hiccup looked at his friends, “that’d be great. I just need to get Merida to my father so we can figure something out.”

Hiccup led Merida back to his home, with Toothless bounding after them. The princess noticed a different atmosphere around this place. Was she still in Viking territory? The outfits and demeanor of everyone suggested so. Merida found it difficult to keep her guard up when she was so fatigued. Seeing Hiccup for the first time, he was not what Merida expected. The boy was taller than she, but he was much leaner than what Vikings were supposed to look like. He didn’t appear threatening at all, she just couldn’t be too sure of outsiders.

But now,  _she_ was the outsider, tossed into an unfamiliar world, where apparently dragons and Vikings get along. She hadn’t noticed when she first arrived, but the place was crawling with overgrown lizards, all of which acted quite friendly.

“Dad!” Hiccup called when he opened the front door of the house. “We’ve got a situation.”

“What kind of situation?” Merida heard a man’s voice ask.

“My dad’s the village leader,” Hiccup whispered to her. “Stoick the Vast.”

 _Vast_  may have been an understatement. Hiccup’s father came into the room, and the first thing Merida thought was,  _Oh my, he’s a real Viking,_ complete with the large frame and muscles, not to mention to stern, unwavering demeanor. For a moment she was frightened, and then bewildered. How was  _that_ Hiccup’s father?

Stoick saw Merida, and his eyebrows rose. “Oh.  _That_ kind.”

Getting introduced to Stoick was easy enough, but Merida found herself unable to answer the more personal questions. She knew they were coming; after all, the village leader was interrogating her. Merida just wanted to be careful of what she said, even though listening to Stoick’s familiar accent made the princess lower her guard a little.

In the end, Stoick accepted (though she doubt he believed) Merida’s lie that she came from a far Viking village off the mainland. She did tell them that she was kidnapped, but she had no clue why, and then she ended up on the shores of a random island after a storm.

As far as her leg, Stoick said he would call and get someone to clean and wrap it up, but Merida should spend the night in the house for recovery until they figure out somewhere else to put her.

“I know it’s not the most comfortable option…” Stoick began.

“No, it’s fine,” Merida insisted. They were strangers, but she didn’t want them to feel awkward when they were offering her hospitality. It was much more than Merida could have hoped for, and from Vikings, of all people.

“Well, then,” Stoick said, “you can just leave your weapons on that table there if you’d like.”

Hiccup stood up. “Um—well, I have to go talk with the others about…this. Merida, are you fine with Toothless watching over you?”

Merida looked uncertainly at the dragon, but when she saw him in the middle of the room chasing his tail like a dog, she laughed and shrugged. “I can handle it.”

Stoick and Hiccup walked out of the Haddock house together, and Hiccup could just feel his father itching to talk this out.

“Son,” he said, stopping to face him. “Do you believe her? About where she’s from?”

Hiccup shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know, Dad.”

“She came with a sword, and she also had a bow and arrows.”

“Dad, I’m aware of that,” Hiccup said. “Maybe it was self-defense. She did say she was kidnapped, and so when she escaped maybe she took whatever was available.”

A nagging voice in the back of Hiccup’s mind reminded him that Merida appeared to be very skilled with a bow, and though he hadn’t seen her use a sword, he was well sure that she had enough experience to use it. She couldn’t have merely grabbed the weapons in self-defense when she looked so comfortable with them. Merida had those weapons because she  _knew_ how to fight with them if she needed to.

Hiccup ignored the voice and went on to meet with his friends. They were still waiting for him, albeit they weren’t very thrilled.

“Dude, what were you thinking?” was the first thing Snotlout said to him. “Bringing a random girl to Berk like that. Did you not learn from last time?”

Most of his friends muttered agreement.

“Guys, guys,” Hiccup said, attempting to calm them down. “I know, it’s kind of like the Heather thing again. But hey, even Heather didn’t turn out that bad in the end.”

“Hiccup, I hate to say it,” Ruffnut cut in, “but your judgment hasn’t always been the best.”

“Yeah!” Tuffnut backed his sister up (which normally doesn’t happen). “I mean, you taught Mildew how to fly dragons, and look where that almost got us!”

“Please tell us that she’ll be back from where she came from by tomorrow,” Fishlegs begged.

Unfortunately, Hiccup hadn’t expected this much opposition from his peers. It had been a while since the incidents of Heather and Mildew, and maybe Hiccup had been wrong about people in the past, but his friends should have understood that he wasn’t just going to leave someone injured and alone in the middle of nowhere. The Vikings felt a twinge of betrayal.

Astrid spoke up then. “You guys are overreacting,” she told them disapprovingly. “Sure, we’re all worried that the worst can happen, but if you guys were paying attention you would remember that Merida has a wound which needed treatment. The least we could do is make sure she recovers.”

The group muttered slight dissent, but the look on Astrid’s face was enough to keep them in line.

“You’re right,” Tuffnut said. He frowned at his sister. “I don’t know why I ever listened to you.”

“Hey!” Ruffnut protested.

Snotlout seemed the most displeased. “All right. But if something happens, it’s  _your_ fault.”

His comment made Hiccup tense up. Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins all left, leaving Hiccup and Astrid. Once they were out of earshot, Hiccup sighed and turned to her.

“Thank for having my back,” he told her gratefully.

“No problem.” She smiled. “It’s what friends do.”

Hiccup coughed. “Well, some friends they are.”

Astrid rolled her eyes playfully. “They’re just stubborn, so what? We’re Vikings. They’ll come around.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “They always do, don’t they?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Hiccup found himself smiling despite his worries.

“Oh, and if Merida needs another place to stay,” Astrid offered, “there’s room at my place. My folks won’t mind. Odin knows she probably won’t be able to stand living with you, your dad, and Toothless under one roof after two nights.”

Hiccup looked at her in surprise. “Really? You’d do that?”

“Of course!” Astrid put her hands on her hips and nodded back at the Haddock house on the overlooking cliff top. “Besides, I have a feeling she’s going to be here for a while.”


	3. Friendly Fire

That night, when Hiccup returned to his house, he was quite amazed to find that Merida and Toothless were getting along, considering she almost stuck an arrow through the dragon just hours before. Merida had been moved to the bed in the far corner of the room and Toothless was sitting in front of her. She was talking and gesturing while the dragon watched with wide eyes like they were having some sort of conversation. Then Merida chuckled and patted Toothless’ head before he noticed Hiccup at the door and went to go greet him. Hiccup closed the door behind him and crossed the room.

Hiccup looked at Merida and attempted to make small talk. “So, you two are getting to know each other pretty well.”

“Maybe.” Merida smiled a little at the dragon. “He’s much like a cat, that dragon you have. A very large one.” She looked at Toothless with a mixture of amazement and disbelief, like she’d never seen a dragon before. Hiccup quirked an eyebrow. Most Vikings that associated with Berk knew of the animals.

“You do realize you’ve just compared the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself to…a cat,” Hiccup informed her.

“Well he  _is_  rather adorable,” Merida insisted.

Hearing this, Toothless stared at Hiccup with his large eyes, ears back, and made a sort of purring noise like he was trying to prove Merida’s point.

“Except, you know, when he’s growling at you,” she added, bringing up her legs to sit cross-legged on the bed. The girl seemed to be thinking deeply about something because she remained quiet with a slight pout on her lips. Her long skirt was covering her legs, but hand idly brushed at the injured spot above her ankle.

 “Well, it’s a good thing he likes you,” the Viking stated simply, scratching Toothless behind the ear.

“He seems to be the only one who does,” Merida replied, sighing.

Hiccup tilted his head and furrowed his brow. He wanted to say something, but in a way, Merida was right. As soon as she arrived with him on Berk, everyone was so guarded against her, but that wasn’t her fault. She just got caught up in bad circumstances. When he finally plucked up the courage to speak, Merida let out a loud yawn.

“Ah, sorry,” she said. “I should probably sleep now…”

“Uh, yeah.” Hiccup offered a smile. “That might be a good idea.”

Merida tested out the blanket before pulling it back to tuck herself in. “Oh, er—Hiccup,” she said, turning back to him. “Your father said he had to take care of something; he said he’ll be working all night so he won’t be back until morning.”

Hiccup nodded as Merida retreated under the covers, rolling over on her side so that all Hiccup could really see was her red hair. He wasn’t surprised that his father was going to be out of the house working for the night—it was just part of having the chief for a dad. Usually Gobber accompanied Stoick, anyway, so Hiccup wasn’t worried.

Having nothing else to do, Hiccup decided that he should probably get some shuteye as well. He had a long day that didn’t end quite the way he’d hoped, and it drained his energy. The dragon rider trudged up the stairs to his room, Toothless following behind him.

But sleep wouldn’t come easy to Hiccup. He tossed and turned in his bed, trying to get comfortable. His mind was attacking him with the same suspicions as his friends and his father. Too many unanswerable questions flooded his mind, keeping him from reaching the peace he needed to get rest.

Consequently, when Toothless was forced to literally nudge him out of bed the next morning, the Viking boy was not pleased. Hiccup woke up to the wooden floor and grumbled unappreciatively. He slowly got up, dusting off his clothes.

“Toothless, was that really necessary?” he scolded, glaring at his friend.

The dragon gave Hiccup another nudge with his muzzle before shooting him a worried glance and disappearing down the stairs.

“What the?” Hiccup followed Toothless to where Merida was sleeping. Or at least, where she was supposed to be sleeping. The bed there was vacant and the sheets were rustled up. Her cloak was hung on the headboard Hiccup inspected the rest of the house and found that Merida’s sword was still on the table, but the bow and quiver were gone. He picked up the weapon carefully. The boy spent a lot of time around Gobber and knew quite enough about weapon making, but he’d never seen a sword crafted like this one. Toothless came over, sniffing at the blade with interest.

“Did she wake up earlier than you, Bud?” Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow. “I wonder where she went. Should we go looking for her?”

 

Merida actually  _did_  wake up early that morning, and under any other circumstances she would have complained about the unreasonable hour her body chose to get up, but she was itching to get outside. Being in the Haddock house was a little suffocating, especially since it was unfamiliar. Of course, Merida expressed her gratitude when Stoick allowed her to stay in their house for the night, and they did try to make her stay more comfortable. Even the woman who came in to wrap up her leg showed no hostility, but she cautious. No matter how much the woman tried to hide it, Merida could see right through her. If even the nurse was suspicious, Merida wondered how long she could last on the island.

The island’s name was Berk, which Merida thought was a bit ridiculous considering the name was something that resembled the sound she makes when she tastes something rather disgusting. Stoick briefly explained that they were a proud Viking village, with the strength to support their pride. He explained this almost like a warning, a subtle hint that said if they saw any funny business from her, she wouldn’t be welcome anymore. It was clear that the Viking village could resort to drastic measures if they had too. It gave her some unsettling ideas that she hoped wouldn’t turn into nightmares as she slept.

When Merida rose from her sleep, the first thing she did was get out of the small bed and grab her bow and quiver. She slipped her shoes on and quietly made her way out the front door of the house, hoping not to wake anyone. She stole a glance at the sunrise, admiring the ocean. The sun gave Merida just enough light to find her way through the village and into the nearby forest. Nobody seemed to come outside yet, so the princess made it without being noticed by anyone.

Under the cover of the trees, Merida felt a little safer. She retreated deeper into the forest with careful steps. Her eyes scanned the trees and grass, searching for a nice spot to settle. Soon enough, Merida had broken into a large clearing. Deciding that this was a good spot, Merida notched an arrow and readied her bow, aiming at a tree that was maybe sixty-five meters from her position. One deep breath, and she let her first arrow loose.

_Thwack!_

The feeling that came afterward as the marksman hit her target was inexplicable satisfaction. Sure, it wasn’t as exciting without riding a horse, but it was good enough. Every time an arrow left her fingertips, Merida had complete control. It made her feel powerful, like she could do anything in the world. She picked another arrow from her quiver, adjusted her aim and struck the tree again.

_Thwack!_

The crunch of the bark was almost reassuring. Her fingers were already reaching for another arrow.

_Thwack!_

The next minutes that had passed seemed like eternity. When her quiver was nearly empty, Merida finally came to a stop and lowered her bow. Multiple arrows sprouted out of the tree trunk straight across from her, perhaps about ten or fifteen before she’d moved on to the next tree over. She suddenly remembered the sunrise that morning; the sun had been barely peeking up behind the horizon. Merida remembered how the light bounced off the rolling waves, shimmering prettily in contrast to the ugliness of her situation, which seemed a bit cruel. It was beautiful, but the vastness of the water was overwhelming. Just staring at the ocean had made her woozy.

Her bow and arrows had always served as a sort of safety blanket, and yet with her bow firmly in hand and the quiver on her back, Merida felt weak and vulnerable while in that forest. It wasn’t familiar—it wasn’t  _home_ , and she hated it. She hated how the trees mocked her and how the grass wasn’t quite as soft like the way it was in the kingdom. She hated those pirates, or whoever those people were, for taking her away on their ship. It was their fault she ended up here, lost and alone and afraid. Even Angus wasn’t around to provide any consolation. The horse always had some way of cheering her up.

Slowly the redhead backed up against the nearest tree and sank to her knees, letting out a strangled cry and burying her face in her hands. She might have been able to control her arrows, but there was nothing she could do about the size of the sea, there was nothing she could do about the sunrise, and there was nothing she could do about keeping her parents from being sick with worry. She couldn’t even let them know she was okay. How had everything suddenly spun out of her control?

Merida bitterly thought about her wish that she had a while back: how she wanted to get away from the kingdom for a while, away from her responsibilities to go out and see the world. She expressed this desire to her parents before, who, out of concern for their daughter, shot down the idea and told her to wait until she was older. In a way, she had gotten what she wanted. Perhaps the universe was trying to tell her something.

 _Come on now,_  Merida mentally chided herself _. You’re going to be fine. This isn’t your fate. It won’t be your fate. You’ll see mum and dad and the boys again and you can tell them all about this later…_

The idea of seeing the triplets’ coy faces amused her, and in her mind’s eye Merida could picture her mother’s smile. She could hear her father’s laugh, and the sound soothed her. She was going to make it through this, and with luck, everything would be back to the way it was. The only thing was that Merida didn’t know how much luck she had to spare.

“Merida!”

The princess straightened up in alarm when she heard the voice calling her, trying to regulate her ragged breathing. The voice came from far away, but she knew whose it was. She hastily wiped at her tears before attempting to push her hair back a little from her face. Merida blinked a couple times to keep new ones from spilling over.

“Merida! Hello?”

He was closer now, and coming from her right side; that much Merida could tell. She heard rustling and footsteps and a sudden slap followed by grumbling: “Ow! Toothless, watch your tail!” The boy was still calling her name but she didn’t respond. Instead, Merida leaned her head back against the tree and simply sighed, setting her bow down and hugging her knees to her chest.

Toothless made it to her first. The dragon bounded into the clearing and when he spotted her he quickly made his way over, eyes open wide with curiosity and a bit of concern. He attempted nuzzling her to cheer her up and Merida giggled slightly, giving Toothless and light pat on the head. After that, Hiccup stumbled into the clearing, looking displeased seeing as how a branch was stuck in his prosthetic leg and snagging the contraption. Hiccup supported himself by leaning on a tree and then tugged the branch out, testing the functionality of his leg before crossing his arms and giving Toothless a look. The dragon looked back at him innocently, making a sound that was almost like a purring cat.

“Thanks for the help, bud,” Hiccup said sarcastically. Toothless immediately went to Hiccup’s side and Hiccup rubbed the top of the dragon’s head, smiling slightly. His eyes locked onto Merida, and she stared back at him inquisitively, eyebrows raised.

Hiccup coughed to clear his throat. He’d always been a bit awkward with guests, and Merida was not an exception. “So—uh, we woke up this morning and you were gone, but you left your sword and cloak so I figured you hadn’t gone very far.” His gaze went to Merida’s face, hoping to find some answer. “Is everything…okay?”

Merida could almost laugh. Certainly under different circumstances she might have teased him about his timidity, but she was in no position to do so. Blowing some hair out of her face, Merida nodded. Her hand reached down to touch her bow, and she ran her fingers back and forth across the wood idly.

It was then that Hiccup looked across the clearing and saw the arrows sticking out of the trees. Hiccup noticed how far Merida was from the targeted trunks, assuming she shot from the place she was sitting in. If that wasn’t enough, the arrows had hit the bark so that they were perfectly in line with each other vertically.

The Viking stood there in awe before staring at Merida again. To say she was a good archer would be an immense understatement. The insane mess of curly red hair aside, Hiccup was beginning to think that there was something very unique about this girl.

“Really?” Hiccup regained his composure and stepped forward towards Merida, arms spread out a little. “I mean, if—”

She cut him off. “I’m fine, Harris.”

Hiccup looked at her strangely and Merida cursed internally when she realized what she called him. She’d meant to say his name, but one of her brothers’ names slipped out instead. Merida didn’t know, but Hiccup could tell the name meant something to her, but he decided to save her from having to explain and treated her slip-up as a mindless mistake.

“Ah, it’s Hiccup,” he corrected.

Merida was looking down at her bow, so she didn’t see his reaction. When she looked up, she noticed that his expression did not pity her, but rather it was an affirmation that he understood her worries. She hadn’t expected that. Before she stared at him for too long, she turned away, trying to count how many arrows she stuck into those trees.

Hiccup went over and hesitantly sat down next to Merida, eyeing her bow. The redhead almost scoffed. She found his overly-cautious behavior a bit ridiculous really; there was no way she would ever shoot at him after he saved her life.

 _Suppose he doesn’t really know that_ , Merida thought glumly.  _I am a stranger after all._

A long silence dragged on between them, but it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable. Hiccup was waiting in case Merida wanted to talk, but seeing as she clearly didn’t, he opted to let herself ease her mind with the quiet. He would just be there for in case she needed someone. Toothless stood by, watching them expectantly and then laying down for a bit when he realized they weren’t going to do or talk about anything interesting.

“Your aim is impeccable,” Hiccup offered, hoping that he could get her to relax.

Merida’s shoulders were tense and she evidently wasn’t comfortable in such an unfamiliar setting, but she waited a moment before muttering, “Thanks.”

Hiccup placed a hand on Merida’s shoulder, causing her to give him a questioning look. He pursed his lips for a moment, trying to decipher her thoughts by reading her face. Of course, he was unsuccessful. Sighing, he said, “Come on, you’ll need some breakfast if you’re going to make it through the day.”

Breakfast had been just as uneventful as their conversation in the forest. Hiccup didn’t eat much at first; he merely picked at his food while scrutinizing Merida’s face. Stoick was out running his daily routine checking up on the villagers. Toothless was enjoying his regular meal of fish, completely oblivious to everything else.

The redhead was eating without complaint, which was odd considering the less-than-tantalizing cuisine on the island of Berk, though she did pull a sour face on the first bite before composing herself. Merida chewed carefully, and she tried to subtly brace herself before swallowing. Hiccup chuckled quietly and continued to finish off his own meal.

While he ate, Hiccup attempted to run the possibilities through his head. This whole situation was too familiar: finding a girl washed up on the beach, taking her back to Berk. He saw the looks in his friends’ eyes when he briefly explained how he came across Merida, and he knew what they were thinking. It was just like Heather. Hiccup didn’t want to make the same mistake twice, so he would have to handle this delicately.

Still, he had that little voice in the back of his mind, the compassion that told him to give Merida the benefit of the doubt. (A few of his fellow Vikings urged him before to get rid of that voice, but as annoying as they found his conscience, Hiccup managed to convince them to accept it as a part of who he was. It wasn’t too hard, since they already figured that Hiccup was different from the start.) She had not shown any suspicious behavior, really. The most dangerous thing she apparently did was firing bizarrely accurate arrows—he assumed it was to relieve her frustrations, as she certainly did not need any extra practice—and she had done so on tree trunks, far away from harming anyone or anything.

 _You still don’t know she isn’t a spy_ , his suspicion told him.

 _Nothing tells you that she is,_ another part of him retorted.

 _Your judgment was never the best, remember?_ self-depreciation chimed in.

Hiccup attempted to shut up his internal conflict as he finished up the last of his meal. He had probably been thinking too long because Merida actually finished before him. The Viking offered to put her dishes away along with his. When Hiccup came back to the table, he noticed Merida resting her head in her hand and staring off into space. She still had a little twist in her mouth, like she was trying to get rid of the taste of her most recent meal.

“It’s probably not the best food you’ve ever had, huh?” Hiccup asked, sitting back down at the table and trying for a friendly smile. He wasn’t sure if he could coax anything out of her, but making her feel more at ease was always the first step.

Behind him, Toothless made some sort of agreeing sound, and Hiccup restrained from rolling his eyes. He didn’t even turn around to scold him. Miffed by the lack of attention, the dragon turned away and curled up, covering his face with his tail.

“Well, can’t say I haven’t had worse,” Merida admitted. Her eyes focused on him like she was seeing Hiccup for the first time. Then, to his surprise, she smiled. “I mean, I’m not saying we don’t have good food where I’m from, but I’m far from the best cook.” The girl chuckled nervously.

Hiccup blinked, but he laughed along with her. “Then I guess you aren’t alone here in that respect.” He paused a moment before asking, “So, where are you from anyway? I don’t mean to pry; it’s just that you’re obviously not from here and—”

She scoffed. “Obviously.”

He stopped and ignored her sarcasm on the grounds that she was in a new place and it was probably just a coping mechanism for the culture shock and stress. Probably.

But Merida had already stood up and walked out the door. “I need some air,” she announced. This time, she left her weapons. Toothless, seeing that the door had been opened, followed Merida out. Hiccup sighed and stood up. A hand went up to scratch at the back of his head the way he did when he was confused or flustered. It was a habit he never quite got rid of. He went after Merida and Toothless, closing the door behind him.

“Merida!” he called after her. “You still didn’t answer my question.”

Toothless went to Hiccup’s side and Merida stopped to turn and face him. “Hiccup, I don’t want to talk about it,” she said bluntly. “But I swear to you that I’m telling the truth when I say I just want to go home.”

She sounded miserable, and she had every right to be. Merida was separated from everything she knew and loved with nothing but the clothes on her back and her sword and bow and arrows. Hiccup expected her to act the way she was doing now, maybe even worse, but Merida was better at holding it in than he realized.

“Still, if you’re going to get out of here,” Hiccup reminded her, “we need to know where you came from, first.”

Merida hesitated, and Hiccup’s internal warning system flared.

 _You can’t trust her!_  his mind kept saying.  _Look at her! She can’t even be honest with you._

“Hey!” someone called. “Hiccup!”

Merida and Hiccup turned to find Hiccup’s friends running toward them. Hiccup looked back at Merida and sighed, knowing that they couldn’t discuss the matter in public. He would let it go for now, but he was going to see to it that Merida would tell him sooner or later. There were too many holes in her story for him to ignore.

Hiccup saw each of his friends glance over Merida for a split second, as if they couldn’t believe she was still here. He walked forward with Toothless behind him and asked. “Hey, guys, what’s up?”

“What do you mean ‘what’s up?’” Snotlout asked in return, a look of mild annoyance on his face that was shared with everyone else in the group.

“Huh?”

Astrid sighed and gave him an exasperated smile. “Your memory’s getting worse Hiccup. Did you forget that you scheduled training today?”

Hiccup and Toothless looked at each other in surprise. Whoops.

“We waited for, like, half an hour,” Tuffnut explained.

“I mean, I know I could’ve led the session,” Snotlout said matter-of-factly, shrugging, “but these guys insisted on waiting for you.”

Merida stared at Snotlout and raised her eyebrow. For a cocky fellow, he was rather unimpressive in her eyes. But then, she could be wrong about him.

“Come on, Hic,” Astrid said, grabbing him by the arm.

The group dragged Hiccup away despite his protests, and Merida just watched them go. She hadn’t any intention of following them, really. Maybe she could go back to the spot in the forest and retrieve her arrows or something. The princess spun on her heel, headed back towards the Haddock house, but she found her path blocked. The dragon’s presence behind her startled Merida and she jumped back a little. Toothless sat in her way, tilting his head expectantly.

“Aren’t you going with them?” she asked the dragon, pointing behind her. He seemed to understand human language pretty well for an overgrown lizard, as she found out the night before, so she had no inhibitions about talking to the animal like he was a person.

The group was almost out of sight, and Toothless looked at him before lowering his head to Merida again, using his muzzle to push her in their direction.

“Oi, what—” Merida pushed Toothless away and gave him a strange look. “What do you think you’re doing? I just want to get back to the house.”

When Merida tried going around the dragon, Toothless became rowdy, jumping in front of her and rearing back on his hind legs, letting out indignant sounds.

“You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?” Merida realized, smirking in disbelief and putting her hands on her hips. “Two can play at this game, you know.”

The dragon shook his tail the way Merida saw the hounds do when they wanted to play. Across the way, Fishlegs heard Merida’s outbursts and stopped to see what was going on.

“Um, Hiccup,” he said uncertainly and pointed back at Merida and Toothless. “I think she’s fighting with your dragon.”

They all looked back, bewildered. Merida and Toothless were running circles around each other as Merida tried to pass Toothless but Toothless effortlessly blocked her. It actually looked like a sort of game, rather than a fight, and eventually Toothless managed to stop her in the end by using his tail.

Merida set her hands on her knees, breathless. “You’re lucky I’m injured,” she said, throwing out excuses for her defeat. “You win this round, dragon.”

Toothless laughed—and for an animal it really did sound like a laugh. Merida straightened up, shaking her head. Then, Hiccup called for his dragon.

“Toothless! Come on Bud, what are you doing?” The dragon rider frowned.

The dragon looked up and continued to try and get Merida to come with him. This time, Merida didn’t fight back.

“Does Toothless like the outsider?” Ruffnut questioned.

Her brother scoffed. “Yeah, right. Next thing you know she’ll be riding a Night Fury.”

Everyone but Hiccup and Astrid laughed at the comment. Astrid looked over at Hiccup, her lips pursed. “What do you think, Hiccup?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Hiccup replied, shrugging. “I’m not surprised; she seems more comfortable with the dragon than she does with me.”

“Anything new that we should know about her?” Astrid asked.

Hiccup shook his head. “I’ll let you guys know when I find out, but so far she’s pretty clamped up.”

“Does it feel like another Heather situation maybe?” Astrid pressed, a little worried.

“You tell me.” Hiccup sighed. “Astrid, if you’re thinking about taking back your offer, it’s all right. For all we know we could be giving hospitality to a criminal on the run.”

Astrid laughed. “Her? A criminal in a dress like that?” She gestured to Merida, whose torn blue dress went down to her ankles and covered the length of her arms. It certainly didn’t look like it belonged to someone trying to escape prison. “Strange maybe, not exactly suspicious. It’s fine, Hiccup. I just thought by the look on your face that maybe you had something on her that might spell trouble for us. Besides, my parents have gotten everything ready.”

Toothless and Merida finally reached the group, and everyone stared at the two of them like they were expecting them to explode. Under the pressure of everyone’s gaze, Merida focused on Hiccup, silently asking what was going on.

Hiccup tried to think fast, but he didn’t have a solution that would make everyone happy. “We’re—uh—going to dragon training right now, if you wanna come, Merida.”

Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins exchanged uncertain glances with each other, but there wasn’t anything they could do.

“Oh, great,” Tuffnut said dully, “it’s happening all over again.”

“What?” Merida looked at each one of them, her brow furrowed. She looked slightly offended, but mostly confused.

Ruffnut stomped on Tuffnut’s foot, causing him to grunt in pain and stop talking. “You’re an idiot,” she told him while they glared at each other.

Hiccup let out a nervous laugh. “Okay, that’s enough, guys. Here Merida, we’ll show you the way.”

At first, Merida thought Hiccup had been joking about the dragon training. Then she thought that she should have expected it; it’s not like you could ride a horse without training it, so it shouldn’t have been any different for dragons.

Merida stayed by Toothless while walking to the arena with the others. Astrid and Hiccup were deep in conversation, and the other four didn’t seem keen on talking to her, which she expected. It was a good thing she didn’t mind the dragon’s company.

The arena was a wide, circular, caged enclosure, and inside there were more dragons. Merida’s eyes widened as she took in the sight. Most of them were much bigger than Toothless, and they all looked deadly. Of course, she had seen a few when she got to the island, but up close was  _much_ different. She took a step back, but Toothless gave her a reassuring purr to keep going.

It was strange when a dragon seemed to be your only friend. Merida heard rumors that the creatures existed, but she never even thought she’d live to see one. Looking at the abundance of dragons on the island of Berk was almost surreal. She vaguely wondered how long this had been a thing on the island.

Everyone in the group went to their respective dragons, and Merida was fascinated at how compatible the dragons were with their riders. Like any other pet, they reflected their owners. She couldn’t decide which one she liked best.

Hiccup walked over to get his dragon and he paused when he saw Merida. “You like the dragons?” he asked, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

“Hm?” Merida blinked at him.

“You were smiling,” he stated, giving her his own crooked smile.

“Was I?” Merida looked at Toothless, who seemed to shrug.

Hiccup chuckled. “Most people would run for the hills.

“I almost did,” Merida admitted. “Don’t think I should do much running with this gash on my leg still healing.” She swished her skirt over her ankles.

The dragon rider frowned. “You’re not in any pain, are you?”

“Not particularly,” Merida assured him. “They wrapped it up nice and everything, but I’m not supposed to be messing around with it.” She treated her injury with little concern, and soon she was lost admiring the dragons again.

Hiccup thought it would be a pretty good idea to properly introduce Merida to his friends and their dragons. Snotlout and his dragon Hookfang were first. Hookfang didn’t mind the extra attention of a stranger, but Merida saw Snotlout trying to show off some new tricks with his dragon. Hookfang wasn’t too pleased with his rider, it seemed, and ended up bursting into flames in anger. Merida screamed.

“Whoa Hookfang,” Hiccup said. He took Merida by the elbow and began walking away, dragging her away with him. “That’s normal for Monstrous Nightmares, but Hookfang does it much more often since Snotlout’s his rider,” Hiccup explained to a dazed Merida. “We’ll move on now.”

Just as Hiccup said, none of the other dragons habitually set themselves on fire like Hookfang, but they were equally intriguing. Merida was particularly amused by the next dragon, or dragons. Belch and Barf were two heads attached the same body, and Merida could only imagine what that kind of life was like. The twins were obviously the perfect choice for this dragon, even though teamwork seemed like a crucial part of riding the Zippleback, and Ruff and Tuff were constantly butting heads. It worked for them somehow, though.

Meatlug the Gronkle was unexpectedly a big sweetheart, as was Fishlegs. Their relationship was one of nurturing, and Fishlegs spoke to dragon through love and encouragement. It was easy to see that the two were fond of each other. The only strange part was that Fishlegs was feeding her rather large stones, which Meatlug gobbled up enthusiastically. The princess abstained from asking about it.

Astrid’s Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, was the last one in the group. A beautiful blue dragon with spikes on its tail, Merida felt that Astrid’s pride in her dragon was greatly justified. The accuracy of its spikes was wonderful, and Merida made a point to say it aloud.

“If you like that,” Astrid began “you should see Toothless in action; he never misses a target.”

“Since when were you so modest?” Hiccup wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow jokingly at Astrid.

 “What are you talking about?” Astrid feigned innocence as she tended to her dragon. “I’m always modest.”

Merida tried not to laugh at the two of them. These people were different then what she expected Vikings to be. She especially didn’t expect any of them to have a sense of humor.

Maybe it was her imagination, but Merida thought that the Vikings were able to warm up to her a little. Ruffnut even once leaned over to Merida to give some snide remark about her twin brother. The redhead spent a little bit more time with Astrid and Stormfly, since she felt that Astrid was probably the only one who didn’t judge her in the beginning.

The training session lasted until lunchtime, and it gave Merida enough time to see the basic abilities of each dragon. When Hiccup asked her which type of dragon she liked best, she wasn’t able to answer.

“Of course it would be my dragon,” Tuffnut said, puffing out his chest.

“You mean  _our_  dragon,” Ruffnut corrected.

“Yeah, but I’m the driver,” Tuffnut insisted.

Snotlout snorted. “Everyone knows my dragon’s the best, guys.”

The three of them argued for a moment before the group had to leave the arena. Their dragons returned home on their own, and the group decided to go to the village hall to eat.

“You know what, guys,” Hiccup interrupted, “I think I’ll head back to the house. I need to go meet with my dad, so I’ll see you guys later.” He put his hand on Merida’s shoulder. “You can stay with them, I promise they won’t bite.”

Hiccup smirked at his friends’ disapproval before running off. Astrid came over and linked arms with Merida.

“By the way,” Astrid told her, “if you’re going to be staying on Berk, I still need to let you know about your new living arrangements.”

“Living arrangements?” everyone else asked at the same time.

They spoke about it in the hall. Evidently, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins found Astrid’s hospitality quite out of character. The group was taken aback, to say the least, but they got over it pretty quickly and turned their attention to filling themselves up with food.

As she looked at each other the Viking teens’ faces, Merida thought they didn’t give the impression of heartless killers. Having never been away from the kingdom before, Merida supposed her prejudices of other people had been protected, and she always knew Vikings as mindless brutes that wanted everything for themselves. Merida was glad to be wrong.

Unfortunately, it didn’t stop her from worrying. Merida still felt some uneasiness in the pit of her stomach, knowing that she was most certainly out of place. A Scottish princess had no business being in a Viking village. It wouldn’t be long before they found out her identity, and Merida had no clue what would happen after that. But, like she had been doing since the night of her kidnapping, Merida forced herself to be optimistic.

“So, what’d you think of the dragon training?” Astrid asked after taking a sip from her mug.

Merida snapped out of her thoughts and noticed that everyone was looking at her expectantly. “Oh, well,” she began, trying to find the right words. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“I’ll bet.” Astrid gave her a friendly grin. She gestured to the others. “Right now, it’s just us that ride dragons, and Hiccup’s dad. Most of the people in the village haven’t found the time or use for dragon riding; they just kind of go about their day as normal.”

“Oh.” Merida frowned. Her brow furrowed. “Then…why do you train dragons?”

The teens suddenly became tense, and Merida knew she asked the wrong question.

“Well it’s not because we’re using them as weapons!” Fishlegs assured her quickly. Snotlout elbowed him in the gut.

Astrid shot Fishlegs an incredulous glance. For a moment, even she looked afraid, but she composed herself quickly before sighing. “What Fishlegs means is that using dragons for combat may make other villages feel threatened, and the last thing we need is more enemies. As far as anyone off of Berk is concerned, we just discipline dragons to not destroy the village.”

“But no one knows you ride them?” Merida inquired, scrutinizing each of their expressions in disbelief.

“Astrid…” Snotlout warned when he saw the blonde prepare to answer.

She ignored him. “It’s a complicated thing,” the Viking girl explained lamely.

Merida asked no further questions.

 

Hiccup sat in front of an open book on his desk. It was a book about the Scottish people, the only one on Berk that discussed this topic. It was more like a manual—everything that the Vikings knew about the Scots from the most recent battles was recorded in here. Before Hiccup was even born, Vikings attacked the Highlands, attempting to settle in the land. The book served as a sort of guide to Scottish tactics and weapons, with some history here and there.

The dragon rider had the book was because his father received word from the other villages in their alliance that there was reason to believe war with the Scots was imminent. Specific details were not enclosed within the letter, but after reading it Stoick had rummaged around and found the old book (Berk was not exactly known to have an extensive library), giving it to Hiccup.

“If it ever comes to it,” Stoick had told him, “I was hoping maybe you could teach the other kids what we’re going up against.”

Oddly enough, Hiccup hadn’t heard anything about the Scots vs. Viking feud in a long while. What he knew about the Highlands’ battles was little: that his father nearly turned the tide for the Vikings, and that the only reason Berk participated was to avoid breaking alliances they had forged with other clans. In truth, they had no intention of even settling in the Highlands, having been on Berk for generations already. Hiccup heard rumors of how the Scots eventually won the war for the Highlands, but there were so many of them he didn’t know which one to believe. They must have been a fearsome enemy, to subdue Vikings into defeat in the first place.

And so his father agreed to attend a meeting with the other Viking leaders. It was very rare for all of them to assemble together like this, so Hiccup could only imagine what the stakes were.

Downstairs, the door opened and closed, and Hiccup heard Merida’s voice. “Hiccup! Er—are you home?”

Toothless, who had been lying comfortably on his bed, perked up.

“I’ll be right down!” Hiccup answered.

He went down and found Merida picking her stuff up off of the table. Toothless followed to see what was going on.

When Merida had her weapons and cloak, she faced Hiccup, pushing some hair away from her face.

“I saw your father heading down to the docks on my way back,” she told him. “Is he going somewhere?”

Hiccup nodded. “Yeah, chief business.”

“Ah, I see.”

He gestured towards her stuff. “So, Astrid told you then, about the, uh—”

“Yeah.”

And awkward silence fell between them, and for a moment they just stared at each other. Then from the side of the room, Toothless snorted rather loudly, causing the two to jump.

“I’ll just be going then,” Merida said quickly. She hurried past Hiccup and out the door.

“See you later,” Hiccup replied weakly after Merida shut the door. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

The dragon rider and Toothless returned upstairs, and Hiccup went back to the book while his friend decided to take a nap. Hiccup flipped through the pages idly before landing on an excerpt about weapons. His fingertips ran lightly over the paper until he noticed a depiction of a sword on the margins. It was long and sleek, with a familiar-looking hilt.

“Where have I seen that before?” Hiccup wondered to himself. He racked his brains for the memory until it came to him.

It looked like Merida’s sword.

“What…” Hiccup leaned in closer. Maybe he was just overthinking it. It couldn’t have been the same type. Berk was nowhere near Scotland, and Merida couldn’t have washed up nearby their island if she lived that far away.

Hiccup flipped the book shut in frustration. He felt like he was starting to lose his mind. The cover of the book was blank leather, but it stared up at him ominously, like a sign of danger.

“Well, let’s just hope we won’t have to be fighting in any wars soon,” he decided, pushing the matter out of his mind.


End file.
